About Henry Coe Star Parties

My apologies for being a month late with this article - it should have appeared in the issue in which the subject was mentioned in the Board Meeting notes. Sorry about scaring some of you.

We have not discontinued use of Henry Coe Park.

But there is a problem. Newcomers have gone up to Coe on an announced star-party Saturday, and could not find anyone from SJAA (or any scopes at all). As those of us who love Coe are aware, these events are lightly attended. Even when the weather is favorable, sometimes there's nobody up there. So, the Board's thinking was to avoid printed and/or WWW mention. Coe would be a place that people find out about by talking to one of us, and we would also tell them just where to go, warn about light attendance, etc.

In further discussion, it's been decided to place warnings in the directions and invitations, hoping to avoid disappointments while still allowing people to know the schedule.

This same problem exists at Fremont Peak State Park as well, but it's much less likely that the site will be empty. Nevertheless, we are attempting to have an official "presence" at the Peak, such as a sign or banner. That's why the calendar lists the "host" for each Peak star party.